LEXINGTON, Va. - Kicking off Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) play in Holekamp Gym, the Washington and Lee University women's volleyball team earned their ninth win of the season as they defeated Eastern Mennonite University in straight sets on Tuesday night.
Sydney Heifner surpassed a career milestone as she recorded her 1000th kill in a Generals' uniform.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set One | 25-22 W&L
- After giving up the first point of the set, Sydney Heifner and Riley Debiec both finished off Allie Buchholz sets to give the Generals a 3-1 lead.
- The Royals used a four point swing with kills from Sophia Denby and Lizzy Kirkton and two service aces from Karla Hostetter to cut the W&L lead to one.
- Two more kills from Heifner and Debiec helped the Generals go on a three point run to give them a 22-18 lead.
- Debiec closed out the frame by finishing off a Buchholz assist to give the Generals a 25-21 set win.
- Debiec recorded six kills on 11 attempts for a .364 hitting percentage while Buchholz dished out a set-high 12 assists.
- McKenna Cook dug out a set-high seven attacks and Avery Myers recorded five digs.
Set Two | 25-10 W&L
- Heifner and Debiec each recorded two kills early in the first set to jump out to a 5-1 lead.
- EMU fought back but another four point swing for W&L, which featured kills from Emery Goerig, Debiec, and Heifner, gave the Generals a 10-4 lead.
- Three-straight kills from Goerig and Myers gave the Generals a commanding 15-5 lead.
- The second set was all W&L as Lillie Holcomb recorded two kills to close out a 25-10 set two win.
- Heifner recorded six kills on ten attempts for a .500 hitting percentage while Goerig earned three kills on four attempts for a .750 hitting percentage.
- Buchholz dished out a set-high 13 assists in the second set while Penelope Quiles recorded two assists and a team-high five digs.
Set Three | 25-17 W&L
- The Generals found themselves in front 4-0 as Buchholz kicked off the set with two-straight service aces but EMU battled back to cut the lead to one in a three-point swing.
- After some back and forth action, Buchholz dished out three assists to Heifner and one to Stephanie Lynch to put the Generals up 18-12.
- A Debiec service ace and two kills from Goerig closed out the third and final frame, giving the Generals' their seventh sweep of the season.
- Heifner and Goerig had a team-high three kills while Goerig had a .400 hitting percentage on five attempts.
- Buchholz dished out 11 assists in the third set while Cook recorded one assist.
- Heifner led the set with seven digs while Quiles, Cook and Grace Mitchener each dug out three attacks.
W&L GAME NOTES
- Washington and Lee moved to 9-0 (1-0 ODAC) on the season with the win and received 23 votes in the weekly American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-25 poll which was released prior to the contest.
- The Generals have won their 37th straight win over the Royals, their last loss to EMU was on September 9, 1994. W&L has only lost 15 sets in the last 29 years while sweeping the Royals 26 times since 1994.
- W&L recorded 47 kills on 119 attempts for a .286 hitting percentage.
- The Blue and White led the match in points (57), kills (47), aces (7), assists (44) and digs (59).
EMU GAME NOTES
- Eastern Mennonite fell to 2-5 (0-1 ODAC) on the season.
- The Royals recorded 27 kills on 114 attempts for a .132 hitting percentage.
- EMU stuffed four W&L attacks while digging out 52 attacks.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Heifner posted a double-double for the third time this season as she had a season-high 14 kills in tonight's match.
- Goerig posted a season-high nine kills on 14 attempts for a .571 hitting percentage while recording one block in three sets of action.
- Buchholz dished out 36 assists in three sets, she has recorded over 30 assists in four matches this season bringing her season total to 247. Buchholz also recorded three aces from the service line.
- EMU's Lizzy Kirkton recorded a team-high nine kills on 39 attempts for a .128 hitting percentage. Laney Cline had eight kills on 32 attempts.
- Megan Miller dished out 11 assists to the Royals outside hitters while digging up four attacks.
- Manuela Marin dug out 12 W&L attacks while recording six assists in three sets of action.
UP NEXT
- The Generals welcome Christopher Newport University on Friday, Sept. 12. First serve is set for 6 p.m. inside Holekam Gym.
Nestled in the mountains of Virginia, Washington and Lee University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Founded in 1749, W&L is the ninth-oldest college in the United States and a top-ranked liberal arts university. With over 500 student-athletes in 24 varsity sports, the Generals have celebrated over 265 conference championships. Learn more about the Blue and White by visiting www.generalssports.com or on social media at @WLUGenerals.
